Concealed fastening of predecorated wallboard

ABSTRACT

Special wallboards having predecorated facing sheets adhered except along side edges, screwed to studs along side edges, with the unadhered portion subsequently adhered over fasteners and extending into the joint between wallboards, with means provided whereby the portions between joints remain in place.

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ited States Patent [191 dy et al.

CONCEALED FASTENING OF PREDECORATED WALLBOARD Inventors: Jack A. Dawdy, Kenmore; Daniel A.

Wlnkowski, Tonawanda, both of Appl. No.: 281,442

US. Cl 156/71, 52/173, 52/222, 52/483 Int. Cl E04b 2/08 Field of Search 52/173, 483, 222; 156/71 June 11, 1974 Warner 52/l73 Jones et al. 52/222 Primary Examiner-Edward G. Whitby Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert F. Hause [5 7] ABSTRACT Special wallboards having predecorated facing sheets adhered except along side edges, screwed to studs along side edges, with the unadhered portion subsequently adhered over fasteners and extending into the joint between wallboards, with means provided whereby the portions between joints remain in place.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 787 1 H1963 Chamberlain 52/420 X 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 92 8O 9o 9| 96 I04 93 This invention relates to the attachment of gypsum wallboard to structural framing members, and particularly to the concealed attachment by fasteners which, after attachment, are concealed by a short flap along each edge of the wallboard which extends over the fasteners along the board edge and which extends around the edge of the board face and into the joint between boards, whereat it tends to remain.

Gypsum wallboard has been attached to studs in many ways, including adhesive application to studs and by fasteners, such as nails or screws. A common problem with adhesive application is the need to provide temporary mechanical holding means until the adhesive has acquired sufficient holding strength. With fasteners, there is the problem of concealing the unaesthetic nail heads or screw heads after attachment.

A known high quality form of gypsum wallboard is vinylfaced gypsum wallboard. A film of vinyl is factorylaminated to the front face of the wallboard, providing a permanent washable predecorated surface. In the most common form, the vinyl film is factory-adhered to the entire front face and the side edges, as in Hourigan et al. US. Pat. No. 3,350,257. In the application of the Hou rigan wallboard to studs, there has been no suitable means provided for attachment by nails or screws through the board with concealment of the fasteners. Attachment is normally by adhesive or battens holding the board edges or both.

In a subsequently developed form, the vinyl film is factory-adhered to only a major centered portion of the basic wallboard front face, and the side edge portions of the basic wallboard are specially formed, with a depressed outermost edge, to be treated with the type of joint compound commonly applied over jointsin the usual drywall construction embodying gypsum wallboards having no vinyl face, as in Kossuth et al patent, which is about to issue. The boards are attached by fasteners through the side edge portions to which the vinyl is not adhered. Joint compound, in an aqueous cemen titious form, is applied over the joint and over the fasteners, substantially similar to the way joints and fasteners are concealed in standard drywall construction. After the joint compound is dried, unadhered edge flaps of the vinyl film adhered to the center of the board are trimmed to precisely abut similar trimmed flaps of adjacent boards and the flaps are then adhered to the undersurfaceof wallboard edge and dried joint compound. If care is used in trimming and butting the abutting edge flaps, a monolithic appearance is pro vided.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination of a predecorated wallboard with unadhered edge flaps for concealing fasteners and means for retaining the outer portion of such flaps in the joint between board edges.

It is a further object to provide ease of attachment of predecorated board without need of application of a joint compound.

It is a further object to provide a novel method of concealing wallboard fasteners.

These and other objects and advantages of thepresent invention will be more fully apparent when considered in relation to the preferred embodiments thereof as set forth in the specification and as shown in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric sectional plan view of a wallboard, with rigid plastic backed edge flaps, being atf tached to studs, in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2-is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified wallboard with a heavy paper backed vinyl facing sheet.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 ofa further modified wallboard with flexible edge flaps.

FIG. 4 is aview similar to FIG. 3 ofa structure with a modified means for retaining the flexible edge flaps.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a vinyl-faced predecorated gypsum wallboard 10 attached to studs 12 by fasteners 14, which in accordance with the invention are concealed by flaps 16 along each side edge of the wallboard.

wallboard 10 consists of the usual gypsum core 18 enclosed in paper cover sheets 20, 22 and also includes a decorative vinyl sheet 24, of about 8 mils with cotton scrim backing, adhered by an adhesive throughout all but two and a half inches wide side edge portions 26 of the face paper 20. The vinyl sheet 24 also includes unadhered edge sections 27 along each side edge, which form the outer layer of each flap 16.

The inner layer of each flap 16 is an extruded thin rigid plastic strip 28 which has an inner feathered edge portion 30 which is adhered to the face paper 20, a fastener covering portion 32 which is hingedly connected to feathered edge portion 30, and a perpendicularly inwardly directed flange 34. The hinged connection of portions 30 and 32 is formed by a groove 36 being formed in the rigid plastic of strip 28. The disposition of the groove 36 and the flange 34 is such that flap 16 can be folded away from the edge portion 26 and the wallboard can be attached to studs 12 by the fasteners 14 inserted in the edge portion 26, and on folding the flap back against the edge portion 26 the flange 34 is disposed against the side edge surface 38 of the paper cover sheet 20. On the underside of the fastener covering portion 32 is a strip of adhesive material 40 with a release paper 42 covering it until after the fasteners are inserted.

After the fasteners 14 are inserted, affixing the board 10 to studs 12, the release paper 42 is removed and the flap 16 is pressed over the fasteners 14 whereat the flap is firmly held by the adhesive 40. By the fact that the vinyl sheet 24 is laminated to a rigid strip 28 ex tending into the joint 44 between boards, the otherwise flimsy edge of the vinyl sheet 24is firmly held around the board edge.

The wallboard 10 can be removed and subsequently reattached, by pulling the flap 16 outward, removing fasteners and then replacing fasteners and folding the flap back into place. The pressure-sensitive adhesive preferably used for adhesive material 40 can be unstuck and restuck many times.

Referring to FIG. 2 a wallboard 50 is attached to studs 52 by fasteners 54, and flaps 56 are provided to conceal the fastener heads. Flaps 56 are the side edge portions of a paper-backed vinyl sheet 58 which is adhesively applied to the central areaof the face paper 60 of a basic paper-covered gypsum board 62.

The paper-backed vinyl sheet 58 is a relatively rigid sheet because of the relatively heavy paper backing 64 laminated to the vinyl facing 66. The paper backing 64 is about .020 inch thick. The flaps 56 include a perpendicularly inwardly directed edge flange 68 formed to lie against the side edge 70 of the basic gypsum board 62. Flange 68 is formed during manufacture of the wallboard 50, by dampening the paper backing of the flaps 56 and folding the flap to form flange 68 while damp. Alternatively the paper backing can be slit part way through whereat the fold is desired, to form an accurately disposed fold and thus an accurately formed flange 68.

The wallboards 50, after attachment to studs 52, have the flaps 56 adhered to the basic gypsum board 62, concealing the fasteners 54.

In FIG. 3, a further modified wallboard 80 is attached ,to studs 82, which includes a basic paper-covered gypsum board 84 with a flexible predecorated clothbacked vinyl sheet 86, of about 8 mils, adhered throughout the gypsum board paper face 88 except along side edge portions 90. An unadhered flap 92 extends from vinyl sheet 86 along each side edge, sufficiently wide to cover edge portions 90 and to extend into the joint 94 between adjacent wallboards 80. A /2 inch wide strip 91 of pressure-sensitive adhesive covered with a protective release paper 93 is adhered to the gypsum board 84 or to the under side of the flap 92. Strip 91 may include a central carrier film of .002 inch with about .001 inch of adhesive on each face.

During fastening of wallboards 80, an elongate L- shaped spacer 96 is held between a board being attached and the adjacent attached board, to provide a predetermined spacing between each board along the side edges.- For example, the vertical leg 98, which is the portion placed between board edges, may be about 0.1 inch in thickness. The top flange 100 on the. L- shaped spacer 96 is disposed on the face of the previously attached board and is held there by small pins 101 which extend through holes 102 in flange 100. The pins are kept from being lost by a wire 103 affixed to flange 100. I

After each wallboard 80 is attached to a stud 82, the spacer 96 is removed and immediately affixed by pins 101 to the opposite side edge of that board, for use in mounting the next board 80. The release paper 93 is then removed leaving the pressure-sensitive adhesive of strip 91 exposed. The two flaps along the joint 94 that has been formed are thenforced into the joint 94 which hasbeen carefully formed of a predetermined width of opening. The'portion of flaps 92 over the strip 91 are pressed against the adhesive of the strip 91. A narrow roller 104 which fits into the joint 94, without being so sharp as to cut the vinyl, is shown forcing a flap 92 into the joint. The roller 104 may have a diameter of about 1 inch to 2 inches and an axial'thickness of about l/lO inch. After the flaps 92 of two adjacent boards 80 are pushed into the joint 94, an elongate decorative retainer strip 106, shown above the joint 94, is pushed into the joint between the flaps. Strip 106 may be a folded strip of the vinyl material as used for the vinyl sheet 86, backed with paper of about .020 inch thickness, with the fold 108 disposed along the exposed surface of the joint 94.

FIG. 4 shows a modified form of using the wallboard 80. Prior to attaching wallboard 80 to studs 82, an elongate rigid plastic flap holder 110 is attached to the studs 82 with nails, screws or by adhesive.

Flap holder 110 includes a flat back plate 112 and a cylindrical front retaining section 114 which has an elongate slot 116 along the front. Wallboard is affixed to the studs 82 by fasteners 117, with the basic gypsum board side edges abutting the retaining section 114. The unadhere'd flaps 92 are laid over the retaining section 114 and then forced into the retaining section as by a roller 104. An extruded plastic insert 118 is then forced into the retaining section 114 locking in the portions of flaps therein. Alternatively, the retaining section 114 can be produced of relatively flexible plastic with a very narrow slot 116 whereby no insert is required to lock in the flaps. I

Having completed a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiments of our invention so that others may practice the same, we contemplate that variations may be made without departing from the essence of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The method of forming and erecting predecorated wallboard comprising the steps of adhering a major central portion of a predecorated sheet to the major central portion of the face of an undecorated wallboard, leaving narrow elongate edge portions of said undecorated wallboard free of said predecorated sheet and leaving slightly wider edge flap portions of said sheet that are not adhered to said wallboard, attaching said' wallboard and other similar wallboards to structural supporting elements by fasteners inserted from said face through said edge portions of said undecorated wallboard with said wallboards spaced closely edge to edge, affixing said flaps firmly over respective board edge portions and over said fasteners with the outermost edges of said flaps extending into the gap formed between two adjacent wallboard edges, and affixing said outermost edges firmly within said gap.

2. ln the method of claim 1 the additional steps consisting of adhering a relatively rigid right angled, elongate plastic strip to the underside of each said flap portions, positioning said strip on said flap so that the flap can be placed on the board edge portion with said angle of said strip being disposed at the outer edge corner of said wallboard, and, after attaching said wallboard to supporting elements, placing said flap on the board edge portion with the angled portion of said plastic strip disposed in said gap between board edges.

3. In the method of claim 2, the additional steps consisting of making a groove in said plastic strip to function as a hinge, adhering the hinged edge of said strip to said undecorated wallboard and adhering the predecorated sheet to the outer surface of said plastic strip.

4. In the method of claim 1 the additional step of adhering a relatively heavy paper backing onto the underside of said predecorated sheet and preforming corners in said sheet and backing to conform to the corners at the two side edges of said undecorated wallboard.

5. In the method of claim 1 the additional steps of forming a gap spacer from an elongate rigid element having a right angled cross section with one leg having a thickness equal to the desired gap spacing between boards and a second leg having temporary fastening means for repeated use in fastening said second leg to the undecorated wallboard face, placing said gap spacer on a wallboard edge while attaching a second wallboard adjacent thereto, and holding said second wallboard edge against said gap spacer during attachment of said second wallboard.

7. In the method of claim 6, the additional step of ad- V hering a narrow strip of pressure-sensitive adhesive to the underside of said flaps and adhering said flaps to said undecorated wallboard as said flap outermost edges are being disposed in said gap. 

1. The method of forming and erecting predecorated wallboard comprising the steps of adhering a major central portion of a predecorated sheet to the major central portion of the face of an undecorated wallboard, leaving narrow elongate edge portions of said undecorated wallboard free of said predecorated sheet and leaving slightly wider edge flap portions of said sheet that are not adhered to said wallboard, attaching said wallboard and other similar wallboards to structural supporting elements by fasteners inserted from said face through said edge portions of said undecorated wallboard with said wallboards spaced closely edge to edge, affixing said flaps firmly over respective board edge portions and over said fasteners with the outermost edges of said flaps extending into the gap formed between two adjacent wallboard edges, and affixing said outermost edges firmly within said gap.
 2. In the method of claim 1 the additional steps consisting of adhering a relatively rigid right angled, elongate plastic strip to the underside of each said flap portions, positioning said strip on said flap so that the flap can be placed on the board edge portion with said angle of said strip being disposed at the outer edge corner of said wallboard, and, after attaching said wallboard to supporting elements, placing said flap on the board edge portion with the angled portion of said plastic strip disposed in said gap between board edges.
 3. In the method of claim 2, the additional steps consisting of making a groove in said plastic strip to function as a hinge, adhering the hinged edge of said strip to said undecorated wallboard and adhering the predecorated sheet to the outer surface of said plastic strip.
 4. In the method of claim 1 the additional step of adhering a relatively heavy paper backing onto the underside of said predecorated sheet and preforming corners in said sheet and backing to conform to the corners at the two side edges of said undecorated wallboard.
 5. In the method of claim 1 the additional steps of forming a gap spacer from an elongate rigid element having a right angled cross section with one leg having a thickness equal to the desired gap spacing between boards and a second leg having temporary fastening means for repeated use in fastening said second leg to the undecorated wallboard face, placing said gap spacer on a wallboard edge while attaching a second wallboard adjacent thereto, and holding said second wallboard edge against said gap spacer during attachment of said second wallboard.
 6. In the method of claim 1, the steps of placing said flap over said gap and rolling a roller which is no wider than said gap over the line of said gap, forcing said flap into said gap, forcing an adjacent flap into the same gap, and subsequently inserting a thin predecorated strip into said gap between said adjacent flaps.
 7. In the method of claim 6, the additional step of adhering a narrow strip of pressure-sensitive adhesive to the underside of said flaps and adhering said flaps to said undecorated wallboard as said flap outermost edges are being disposed in said gap. 